Sex Scandal At Oprah’s Private School?

Bad news for Oprah Winfrey that could potentially turn into a US scandal for her brand. The Times of London reports allegations of sexual misconduct have been made at her girls’ school in South Africa… and that Winfrey traveled halfway around the world to attend crisis meetings at the south-of-Johannesburg campus.

“Serious claims of misconduct” have been made against a matron at the school and if the SA press is to be believed, it’s a doozy:

The Afrikaner-language newspaper Rapport reported that the matron was alleged to have grabbed a girl by the throat and thrown her against the wall. Other alleged charges were that the “dorm parent” swore and screamed at the girls, assaulted them and sexually fondled at least one of them. The alleged incidents came to light when one of the pupils ran away from the school because the reported abuse had become intolerable. Her parents informed the school.

Winfrey flew in parents from across South Africa for a two-hour meeting at the school’s campus and met with the school’s executive and private investigators. Regardless of the panic mode that her publicist might be in right now, it’s good to see that Winfrey is handling this case in the right way.